Hogfest has fun for all this weekend

Posted Jan 26, 2012 By Richard Turtle

EMC Events -Stirling - Hogfest is coming to Hockeyville.

Kicking off this evening (Thursday) with a concert by Elvis tribute artist Matt Dowsett at the Lions Club Hall, activities continue throughout the weekend including the scheduled pond hockey tournament slated for Saturday and the annual Toilet Bowl Races Sunday afternoon on Mill Street.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," says Hogfest Co-chair Arlene Pollick. A few past activities have been scaled down or eliminated, she says, but all the favourites are back thanks in part to the contributions of other clubs and community groups.

Friday will feature the Medieval Feast with Stirling Theatre favourites Debbie Collins and Allan Gillespie providing much of the evening's entertainment. Saturday will include the AOTS Breakfast at St. Paul's United Church, Storytime at the Stirling-Rawdon Public Library and plenty of pond hockey.

Sunday's highlights will include brunch at the Stirling Legion, free public skating at the arena and the early afternoon Toilet Bowl Races.

Hogfest was rejuvenated by the Stirling and District Lions Club in recent years and has provided a long list of activities for adults, families and children.

Explains Pollick, it is a celebration of the community to mark the impending end of winter.

Groundhog Day, once celebrated by the ancient Celts, is halfway between the winter solstice and spring equinox. It is said that if the groundhog emerges from his burrow on February 2 and sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter remain. An overcast sky and lack of a shadow mean an early spring.

The pond hockey tournament marks the final event in the first phase of the Kraft Hockeyville competition, with organizers awaiting the announcement of the top 15 communities early in March.